Proportional dispensing apparatus



United States Patent lll113,547,316

[ 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS [72] Inventor Raymond.Heiskell 30 Laurel l'lill Court, San Mateo, Calif. 94402 e .L d m m o en B g 0 mk Ml ok ...m YN WN d l5 n 46 a 99 Ur. HH .n|o. 07 ly l ma MN uwE 6,7, wv.. 85 am 59 m0 2,1,.nn 23 PA Feb. 28, 1969 Dec l5, 1970 2 7 2 30 8 o. d N n ld Wem a AFP .lll 1125 224 [ll [54] PROPORTIONAL DlSPENSlNGAPPARATUS 2 Claims,4 Drawing Figs. [52] [5l] [50] FleldofSearch..... 82,83, 108, 137, |45, 159, 181,

PATENTED nim 519m 3547.316

'i IENOR PROPORTIONAL DISPENSING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a liquid dispensing apparatus, andparticularly to a proportioning apparatus for delivering quantities of aplurality of liquid ingredients in predetermined proportion to eachother. This invention is specifically suited for dispensing the resinand hardener components of a chemically reactive system which must bemixed prior to use. When these two components are mixed together in apredetermined proportion, the mixture will react to produce a finalstate. The attainment of uniformity from batch to batch of the curvedmixture requires accurate proportioning of the constituents.Furthermore, due to its short reaction time, or pot life, the mixedmaterial must be used almost irnmediately after it is mixed, andtherefore the components must be mixed either in small batches that canbe used in a short period of' time or mixed continuously at a rateapproximating the rate of use.

These characteristic problems have led to the development of a varietyof proportioning and mixing devices intended to facilitate the widecommercial use which these materials have had. In some of these devicesthe raw ingredients are stored in a plurality of containers which haveto be filled from the bulk containers in which the resin and hardenerare originally packaged. This filling is both slow and messy. Inaddition, a few devices which heat the materials for dispensing heat theentire contents of the containers, thus resulting in temperature lossand considerable delay each time the containers require refilling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an improved dispensingapparatus employing heating elements in conjunction with small secondaryreservoirs and positive displacement proportioning pumps which aregravity fed or pressure fed from the reservoirs and are concurrentlyactuated to deliver fixed quantities of resin and hardener. Handling ofthe raw ingredients and container filling from bulk containers iseliminated by employing the bulk containers in which the raw ingredientsare packaged to directly feed the reservoirs o'f the apparatus. Toaccomplish this, the bulk containers are attached above the reservoirsin gravity-feed fluid communication therewith or a supply line isconnected to remotely located bulk containers or tanks which supply thecomponents to the reservoirs by forcing the components through the linesby pressure being applied to the bulk containers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view oftheapparatus. FIG. 2 is a view in section taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG.

' Fic. 3 is a sectio'miview taken along lines 3 3 ofFro. 2k.

FIG. 4 is afview partlyI in elevation and partly in section of anotherembodimnft of the apparatus.

DEscRuTroN or THE EMBODIMENTS eln FIGS. 1-3, the dispensing apparatus 10comprises a frame l2 having rriounting posts 13, pumps 14 fixedlyconnected to said posts, and secondary reservoirs 16 fixedly connectedto said pun'ipsA Each reservoir 16 comprises an upper adapter body I8and afower cup body 20, said bodies being adapted for sealinginterconnection by mating threaded portions 22 and 24km the respectivebodies. The adapter bodies I8 have relativelvypnrrow passages 26 whichare threaded to receive the thre"ad necks I28 of inverted ingredientcontainers 30. f

A cavity 32 formid thin each of the cup bodies 20 contains one or morece ic capsulated wire-wound resistors 34 which serve to heat-`egli-items ofthe cavity 32, the value of the resistance beingpredctefmined to provide the desired temperature, For this purpo,l theresistors 34 are electrically connected in parallel to a filamenttransformer 36 mounted on frame 12. When the transformer 36 is energizedby electrically connecting it to the appropriate source of alternatingcurrents, not shown, the resistors 34 heat the contents of the reservoircavities 32. The relatively narrow passages 26 through which thecontents of containers 30 flow serve to restrict thermal communicationbetween the cavities 32 and the containers 30.

The cup bodies 20 are provided with outlets 33 through which the liquidingredients flow out of the reservoirs I6 under the influence ofgravity.

In the embodiment shown in FIG; 4, inverted bottle-shaped screw-onhousings 4f) are formed with sharpened hollow tubes 42 which extendinwardly from the necks 28a and are adapted to puncture ingredientcontainers 30a to thereby establish fluid communication between them andpassages 26.

Immediately beneath the reservoirs 16 are two positive displacementpumps 14, each pump I4 comprising a cylinder block 44 in which acylinder 45 opens on one end is formed to receive a rodlike piston 48.The open end of the cylinder block 44 is adapted to receive a packingnut 5) which ensures that a sliding seal is made between each respectivepiston 48 and cylinder block 44. The cylinders may bc of different sizeor diameter to provide dispensing of the two ingredients in other thanequal volume proportions.

Aligned with outlets 38 are inlets 52 in the cylinder blocks 44. Thepassages thus formed between the cavities 32 and cylinders 46 permitsthe liquid ingredients to be drawn into to cylinders 46 by the vacuumcreated when the pistons 48 are partially removed from them, asindicated by the flow arrows in FIG. 2. Near the closed ends of thecylinders 46, outlets 54 are provided which are in flow communicationwith check valves S6. The vales 56 are oriented to'allow fluid passagefrom the cylinders 46 only as indicated by arrow 58 in FIG. 2. Valves 56are in flow communication with conduits 60 which are adapted to bringthe ingredients to a common point of discharge.

To actuate the pistons 48 in unison, a lever mechanism 62 is attached tothe ends of the pistons 48. The mechanism 62 comprises a pair of links64, an actuator plate 66, and an actuator rod 68 with a knob 70 on theend. These elements are adapted for pivotal movement around pins 72, 74and 76 (FIG. 4) thereby adapting the mechanism 62 to move both pistons48 in unison by the movement of actuator rod 68. The movement of themechanism 62 is depicted in FIG. 2 which illustrates the position of themechanism, rod 68 being shown in solid outline in its highest positionand being shown in phantom outline in its lowest position.

OPERATION Filling the apparatus l0 with the ingredients is accomplishedby uncapping the bottles 30 in which they are packaged and threadablyconnecting the bottles with adapter bodies 18. Due to the molasses likeconsistency of these ingredients, an open container 40 can be invertedover a passage 26 and attached thereto without spillage and beforeoverfilling the reservoir 16 can take place.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, housings 40 are uncovered by removing lids78. Closed containers 30a containing the appropriate ingredients arethen placed into the housing 40 and forced down and over tubes 42 whichpuncture containers 30a and create a sealed fluid communicationtherewith.

In both embodiments, once the resin and hardener have been brought intoflow communication with the balance of the apparatus, air breatherapertures 79 are punched through the upper ends of the containers.

Once the containers 30 or 30a are so attached, the resin and hardenerflow into their reservoirs 16 through passages 26. Heating elements 34elevate the temperature of the resin and/or hardener to reduceviscosity. When the actuator rod 68 is moved to its highest position,the pistons 48 are withdrawn from the cylinders 46 to thereby fill thecylinders 46 with resin and hardener. As the actuator rod 68 is moveddownwardly to its lowest position by manual pressure on knob 70, thepistons 48 are forced inwardly of the cylinders to dispense fixedamounts of resin and hardener through valves 56 and conduits 60.

ln order to ensure that a hardener container will not be connected tothe resin reservoir and that the resin container will not be connectedto the hardener reservoir, various means may be employed, including:color coding of containers and reservoirs; different neck diameters forthe hardener and resin containers and correspondingly differentdiameters for the adapter body passages which receive the containernecks; dif'- ferent threading as between the two sets of adapter bodypassages and container necks.

I claim'.

1. Apparatus for dispensing in a predetermined proportion of componentsof a resinous material admixture comprising a plurality of reservoirs,one for each of said components, a plurality of containers, one for eachof said reservoirs, in fluid flow communication therewith, each of saidreservoirs having an inlet through which its associated component mayflow into the reservoir under the influence of gravity from itscontainer and having an outlet through which its associated componentmay flow out of the reservoir under the influence of gravity, a

plurality of pumps, one for each reservoir, each of said pumps having apiston slidably disposed within a complementary shaped cylinder within acylinder block, each of said cylinders having a cross-sectional areawhich is in predetermined proportional relationship to the totalcross-sectional area of the cylinders of all the pumps, each cylinderbeing in communication with the outlet of its associated reservoirwhereby its associated component may enter the cylinder under theinfluence of gravity and atmospheric pressure when the piston iswithdrawn from said cylinder to a predetermined degree, each of saidcylinders having an outlet and outlet control means therefor which isadapted to permit the outward flow of fluid from said cylinder when itspiston is moved inwardly thereof and to prevent the flow of fluid intosaid cylinder through the outlet of said cylinder when the piston ismoved outwardly in said cylinder, and actuator means for each of saidpistons to move the pistons outwardly of the cylinders and inwardly ofthe cylinders.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising heating means in thermalcommunication with said reservoirs for elevating the temperature of therespective components contained therein before the passage of the sameinto said pumps.

